


Kio and Peter Pan

by ai_katsuu



Series: Red Shoes Ever After [5]
Category: Peter Pan (1953), Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie, Red Shoes and the 7 Dwarfs (2019)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:27:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26156497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ai_katsuu/pseuds/ai_katsuu
Summary: Kio gets stuck in the mines only see that another prince has gotten stuck with him, leaving him infuriated as he is the last person he'd want to be stuck with.
Relationships: Kio (Red Shoes and the 7 Dwarfs)/Peter Pan (Peter Pan), Kio/Peter Pan
Series: Red Shoes Ever After [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1872790
Kudos: 23





	1. Reunited

"Kio! Get out of there!" Goldie screamed at him.

The caves they were in had started to collapse. Too much internal activity finally let out a tremor through the mines that had separated most of the group. The rocks above them had started to shake and granted as someone with small legs, it was easier said than done. The rumbling and soundwaves that the earthquake produced were not helping at all. Goldie stood at the stone entrance, holding one hand at the wooden frame as she bent her back slightly from exhaustion. 

Alas before he was able to make it, the debris from above started to shake. Kio sharply gasped and darted his eyes to Goldie, who was standing right below. “Move! Above you!” the overlapping sounds of the rubble overlapped his voice and Goldie only squinted her eyes in confusion. But luckily for her, Noki had grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back just in the nick of time, the pair falling backward on the stone ground. 

“Are you okay?” he asked looking up at her, using his elbows to support himself. Goldie ruffled her hair with her hands and shook her head,

“Yeah no, I’m fine. Kio though,” she quickly got up, a little sore on her hips, but ran up to the debris and felt around the rocks. Following her from behind, Noki caught up beside her and leaned his ear to the debris. 

“Kio?! Can you hear me?” he called out to his brother.

“I’m fine!” Kio stepped back from the wall of debris. He looked around and saw a small opening on the right, “To your left, there’s a small gap.” he told them. Noki looked in the gap to see his brother covered his dust.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, looking at him up and down. Kio shook his head,

“No I’m fine,” he looked at the blockage, “Look away for a bit,” he told him. Noki stepped back and Kio, now in his human form, planted his hands on the boulders and tried his best to push and pull on them but to no avail. Unfortunately, some water from above had leaked through and Kio’s hand slipped on the rock as he applied force on it, cutting his hand as fresh blood appeared on his palm. He stepped back panting, hissing at the pain. “There’s no way we’ll be able to move this, even with Arthur and Snow,” he called out to his brother as he looked at his palm.

“What should we do then?” Goldie asked. 

“I’ll find another exit to meet you guys,” he said looking around for his glove that fell off during the earthquake. 

Noki nodded, “We’ll have the group cover every exit around the mountain. We got you.” 

Kio smiled slightly, thankful that he and his brother think so alike, “See you soon then.” he turned around.

“Stay safe!” Goldie called out.

Kio waved to her one last time before he started walking around the mines. He found some spare cloth in the debris to stop the bleeding in his hand and wrapped it around the wound, albeit it was sloppy. He looked around the caves and frowned. Most of the findings they had come to research had been destroyed. 

There were rumors about a historical castle that used to be ruled by one of the very first princes in Fairy Tale Island, but that palace had been buried underground as time passed due to mudslides and storms. It was supposed to be a fun adventure and Gretel had deemed it safe for them to enter, but something happened in between. An unexpected earthquake perhaps. 

All of a sudden, Kio saw his eye level drop a good few feet. He looked at his arms and saw he was a dwarf again. As if on instinct, he sharpened his senses and looked around. He wasn’t alone in this cave, someone was watching him now. 

“Who’s there?” He looked around cautiously. No response, “There’s no point in hiding, I know you’re looking at me so just show yourself already.” 

“Well, I certainly didn’t expect to see a dwarf in this area.” 

Kio didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was. Suddenly a migraine came to his head; it could have been the slight blood loss from his palm, but he was certain that it came from this person's voice. Immediately irritated and frowning, he turned around to the individual that stepped out of the shadows, their face just as annoying as Kio remembered. Of all the places they had to meet again...

“Peter Pan,”

Peter’s face turned from a neutral to a surprised one, “You know who I am? Have we met?” 

“How I wish to say ‘never’,” Kio said in a resentful tone. 

Peter frowned and crossed his arms, “Okay if we have met we clearly didn’t get off on the right foot. Which one are you?”

“Doesn’t matter. Just stop following me and we never have to see each other again. Now scram.” he waved him off. 

“What the hell?” Peter said, “You’re not very nice, you know that? No one tells me to ‘scram’, I scram when I need to!” 

“God, you actually sound like a child,” Kio mumbled

Peter scowled at him, “Oh I remember you now,” he walked forward “Inventor, uptight, tense. You’re one of those triplets from the F7.”

“I’ll have you know those traits of mine only come out only when a nuisance comes my way.” he started walking down the stone steps. 

“Oh, grow up,” Peter crossed his arms, and at that Kio felt like he wanted to explode at him. Grow up? Him? How hypocritical. “Are you really still mad at me for what happened? It wasn't even that big of a deal.” 

It took every bit of nerve in his body for Kio to restrain himself from strangling the boy. He took a deep breath and proceeded to walk forward. Peter raised an eyebrow and followed him down the steps. 

“Where are you going?” he called out.

“Finding a way out,” the inventor responded. He jolted back when the ginger-haired boy was suddenly in front of him, Peter’s feet off the ground as he levitated crossing his legs. 

“Well, you’re not gonna get out from there. It’s a dead-end,” he told him flatly. “I can show you the way out.” 

Kio folded his arms, “Really? Why would I take the help of a child?” 

“You know I’m way, way, older than you right? I’ve been exploring the world since before you were born, son.” he challenged. Kio rolled his eyes as Peter’s statement only proved his own point. “And we basically look the same age, what are you twenty? I‘m twenty-one.” 

Kio put on a fake smile, “And yet you act like a thirteen-year-old.” his ‘smile’ morphed back into a serious expression. “How could you possibly know the way out?” 

Peter shrugged, “I don’t…” Kio raised an eyebrow to which he quickly followed up by saying, “But I am a great navigator. I can get us out of here in no time.” 

Kio looked surprised, “Us? You’re stuck here too?” 

Peter cocked his head, “Yeah of course. Why?” 

“Nothing, I just assumed this was where you lived, you troll.” 

Peter’s eyes dulled, “Ha-ha, I see you have a great sense of humor.” he said unenthusiastically. “Look, I’m only helping because I’d feel bad either way knowing I did nothing. My conscience would bug me for the rest of my life if some guy got hurt because of me.” Peter widened his eyes in realization after his own words but it quickly died down soon after as he dismissed it.

“Wow, you had a conscience all along?” Kio replied sarcastically.

“Yeah, I had mine since I was born unlike you, puppet boy.” Kio was about to say something before Peter put a finger up, “Look, follow me or get lost here. Chances are I won’t be able to find you again.” 

Kio sighed, “You won’t trick me will you?” 

“Well, I definitely won’t kill you.” Peter quickly grabbed onto Kio's forearm and grinned. Kio gave him a questioning look before he screamed as Peter pulled him down from the stairs, into the dark abyss below them. 

“Are you crazy?!” Kio screamed through the fall. Peter merely smiled at him and looked ahead of them. As he saw the ground approaching, he quickly changed his stance, putting his feet ahead of him and moved Kio upwards. Kio noticed the wind had stopped and opened his eyes. They were just a few feet of ground, Peter levitating above as he held the small dwarf in his arms. Kio felt embarrassed and somehow irritated to be so close to Peter.

“Get the hell off me.”

“Actually you’re the one who’s in my arms so _-_ **_oof!_ **”

Kio kicked his way out and landed on his feet. Peter gestured for him to follow through the caves. 


	2. Castle in Time

The rocks were moist but Kio could feel it getting warmer and warmer as they progressed.

“Hey, last time I remember you were much taller, thinner, and didn’t have green skin. What happened?” Kio merely kept silent as Peter slowly understood, “Oh, cursed huh?”

“That’s not really any of your business. Back off.” Kio told him.

Peter inhaled a sharp amount of air, “Yikes, so that’s why you haven’t broken yours yet. You need to lighten up or the ladies won’t be coming to you.”

“I don’t need a woman to break my curse.” he sharply said.

“Oh yeah? How do you plan to do it then?”

“Where are we going?” Kio sighed and finally asked.

Peter lifted himself up and hovered a few steps ahead. “It’s a big cave and we need to rest first if we’re going to cover a lot of ground.”

Kio looked concerned, “My brothers and friends are waiting by the exits. I don’t want to keep them waiting.”

“Don’t worry. I suspect, and I’m never incorrect,” Kio raised an eyebrow at his words, “That we’ll be out of here tomorrow noon, hopefully, earlier.” They had arrived at a pair of wooden doors and that had torches by their sides.

“Did you light those?” Kio asked, surprised.

Peter nodded, “I’ve been here just a little longer than you.” he put his hands on the door and pushed it open. He slightly stumbled ahead as they opened, and kicked the door frame to his left. When he did, the dark room they were in had lit up.

Kio was astonished at what appeared before him. It was draft and grim, but noble and immense room at the same time. A chandelier hung above the dusty carpeted floors. Surrounding the room were various artifacts that had long lost their value but were definitely still worth something. Ripped out portraits that had faded over time were hung on the walls.

Kio looked around in awe “This is…”

“The first princes’ castle. It’s been buried here for who knows how long.” Peter flew above to light more torches. “Pretty cool right? I found it just yesterday.” Kio didn’t respond as he was too immersed in the room itself. “Hey, if you’re so into in history, check this out.” he gestured above. Kio looked to where he was and Peter rammed his first into the wall. Something long and dusty rolled itself out, more dust spreading to room.

Once it had cleared Kio walked up to it, “That’s...the family tapestry.” he looked at it. There were several names and most were worn out. But even just a single thread of this tapestry was worth millions. Not that he came here for the money, he was just simply interested to know if this place even existed.

Kio chuckled, “I have to say, Pan,” Peter perked his head up at the mention of his name, “This is pretty amazing. I’m impressed.”

Peter looked at him for a bit before smiling, “This what you came here for?”

He nodded, “Yeah, my brothers and one of their partners really wanted to find this place. Our friends even tagged along.” his hands shuffled through his own satchel and brought out a smaller version of the device he and his brother had made years ago.

Peter noticed the clicking and flashing and flew to his side, “What’s that?”

“It captures moments in time.” Kio said clicking it several times. Peter looked at it curiously before realizing.

“Oh, so like a camera?”

Kio looked up from the device, “Um..yeah I guess so.” he said, unfamiliar with the title as he and his brothers had given it several names.

The two boys separated for a while, Peter resting in the main hall while Kio explored more of the castle. It was unbelievable how much of this was even preserved. As he got even more immersed in the castle, his thoughts wandered to Peter.

“How long has he been here…” he thought, “I thought he was impossible to find because Merlin said he was always on the move.” His memories of the guy weren’t all that happy. He had messed with him and his brothers once and ever since that incident they, specifically Kio, had become the bane of his existence.

Though he probably should’ve given him more of a chance instead of being so rude to him when they met again…

_Click_

Kio snapped out of his thoughts as he heard a sharp, quiet sound.

“Hey watch out!”

It was way too fast for Kio to follow. He had been tackled to the wall as spears were released from the floor. Peter looked back, heavily panting, then to Kio, “Are you okay? Careful there, it’s hard to run with a gaping hole in your foot.” he lightly chuckled.

Kio opened his eyes to see that Peter had him against the wall, both hands on the sides of his head, his face relatively close to his as Peter looked at him with concern. It took a while for Kio to suddenly flush red and push him out as he walked away with his head down.

“Gross get off me,” he mumbled.

Peter dully looked at him, “You’re welcome…” his eyes followed him until he noticed something out of the ordinary. “Hey,”

“What?” Kio turned his head, still averting his gaze.

“Your hand, it’s bleeding through that cloth, are you okay?”

Kio looked at his hand again and indeed his sloppy work of a bandage was falling apart. He merely tucked it back in his pocket. “I’ll be fine.”

Peter crossed his eyebrows, “You obviously won’t be when you get dizzy from all the blood loss.” he flew in front of him, grabbing a new piece of cloth from one of the tables and held out his own hand. “Give it here.”

“I’m not going to let you treat it. I can take care of it myself” Kio looked at him up and down.

“Judging by that work I’d say the opposite, c’mon,”

“Don’t touch me.”

“Kio-”

“I’m fine.”

Peter huffed and yanked his left arm, forcing him to sit down on one of the chairs as Peter glared at him, “Look, I know you don’t like me very much but at least be alive for the day I die. You have a cut in your hand that will definitely affect you in the next few hours or so. So shut up and let me help you.”

Kio widened his eyes before reluctantly taking out his hand. Peter silently removed the cloth, tying a new one around his hand much firmer than the last. Kio looked at Peter as he had never seen him so serious about something. Finally, Peter pulled back with a smile,

“There, better?” he asked.

Kio took his hand back and examined it, “Yeah...thanks.”

“First aid was something I had to learn in Neverland. My Lost Boys were always…” he stopped for a bit before shaking his head, “Nevermind. Let’s get back to the main hall and rest.”

Kio looked at him before giving a small smile, “Yeah, sure.”

\---

“So, tell me about yourself, Peter,” Kio asked as they walked through the caves. “Where’d you come from.”

Peter raised an eyebrow, “I mean unless you’ve been living under a rock, you must know I’m from Neverland.”

Kio laughed, “Right, what I mean is: why is it always so hard to locate you? You must’ve crowned from a young age were you not? What was it, late 80’s, 90’s? I don’t know how old you really are.”

Peter thought for a moment, “I mean…” he shook his head once more, “Yeah I didn’t like the royal life too much. I supposed that must’ve made the papers on Fairy Tale Island. Neverland isn’t that far from it after all.”

“And I guess it’s been easy for you to go anywhere, right?” Kio looked at Peter’s feet.

He nodded, “Yeah, it’s been pretty great exploring.” He decided to change the subject, “But hey, look at you now. All lightened up.”

Kio waved a hand, “Doesn’t mean we’re buds now.”

Peter laughed, “Whatever you say.”

They walked for a couple of more miles, becoming immersed in their conversation. Kio was finally starting to see that Peter wasn’t such a bad person. He was never his dismissive personality with anyone, only Peter and sometimes his friends when they get on his nerves, but that was so rare meaning that this is pretty new to him. Peter, on the other hand, had never hated Kio but did feel a little awkward with him until now. He thought messing around with him would finally crack his shell, and lucky for him, he began to enjoy his company. All was going really well until one sentence struck a chord in Peter.

“So, there’ve been rumors about you bringing a girl to Neverland.”

Peter looked at him, his expression changing, “What?”

Kio nodded not noticing his expression, “Is she from the outside world? You dating her?”

Peter looked at the ground with his lips pressed together, “...Let’s not talk about this…”

He laughed, “What? Did I hit a point? You gonna marry he-”

Peter slammed Kio into the wall, his eyes clearly furious as Kio looked startled. It was the same position they were in before, only this time Peter’s eyes weren’t one of concern, but rather anger as if he had been provoked. He stared him down before his tight grasp on Kio’s shirt slowly loosened, he breathed out before letting him go completely. “Sorry…” Peter mumbled.

Kio looked at him with concern as he fell to his feet, “No...it’s fine, I’m sorry I pushed you-”

“Forget about it..” he said.

“But,”

“Kio!” he said before lowering his voice, “It’s fine...really.”

Kio only pursed his lips as he silently nodded. He trailed behind Peter. He felt a little guilty for ruining what seemed to be a good conversation and bonding moment between them.


	3. Alone Together

Peter stopped and noticed something when they entered a larger room, “Hey, look ahead.” Kio moved to the side and saw another pair of double doors.

“An exit?” he asked.

Peter nodded, “Yeah, it must open through an old water system.” he looked through the walls and saw water flowing through wooden ledges that led to the double doors. “It’ll probably be a couple of hours before it opens automatically.”

“Look up there,” Kio said. Peter followed his gaze and saw a hole at the top of the wall, big enough to fit one person.

“Did you say your friends were waiting for you out there?” Peter asked him. He nodded. Peter floated up, to which Kio panicked a bit.

“Where are you going?” he quickly asked.

“You said your friends were getting worried about you, and you’ve been separated from them for over seven hours. I’ll go ahead and tell them where we are. I’ll be back.”

Kio pursed his lips anxiously. “Do I just wait here?” Peter, who was already above crawling out, nodded his head.

“Yeah, just wait for me.” and with that Kio was left alone in the entrance.

It was quiet. Very quiet. The dark room wasn’t very good for relaxing: there was the running of water through the ledges, some excess dripping on the ground, and if you listened closely you could hear the sounds of more debris falling in the distance.

Yeah, not exactly that comforting.

He tried to keep himself occupied by examining the architecture around, but even he was finding that boring. The cold stone floor wasn’t exactly great for sleeping either. He walked around the room in thought, trying to keep himself preoccupied and busy, away from the aching question in his chest.

_'Is he really coming back?'_

He thought about their conversation from before as he lied down on the hard ground. He had clearly upset Peter with that question about the girl, and being honest with himself he was nervous that he might’ve driven him to just abandon him in the mines. He had been rude to him at the start, but they were starting to get along after he had fixed his wound.

Since Peter had always been so carefree, playful, happy, and aloof without a care in the world, it was really unnerving to see him get angry. Almost something you wouldn’t expect. Kio began to think about what made him upset: was he no longer friends with her? Did something bad happen?

…

...Why is he so concerned about what Peter feels?

Kio sat up from the floor, his eyebrows crossed as his eyes looked to the wall.

“Is it possible I…?”

He was afraid of going down that road so he quickly dismissed that thought. No, he’s known Peter for around four years now and though their interactions were few, he knew that couldn’t possibly be true. He was just thinking about him to make himself feel better. Yeah...that’s probably it.

Minutes turned into hours, and Kio was sure it had been around three hours now. Noki said that they would cover every exit, so it shouldn’t have taken Peter long to find them. Had something happened to them? Or...did Peter really just leave him here? Kio felt something hollow in his chest as he thought about that as if he had been punched in the stomach. Fine, he’ll just wait for the doors to open.

\---

“Hey...wake up..”

Kio heard a voice and slowly he began to open his eyes. A worried face was looking down on him. “Hey, are you alright?”

Kio, now fully awake, sat up quickly and accidentally bumped his forehead with his. The boys groaned in pain as they rubbed the sore spot on their head. “What the hell, why were you gone for so long?!” Kio asked wincing

“Relax!” Peter looked at him as he put his hand down, “It was difficult to find them and one girl dragged me into a lake thinking I killed you or something...wasn’t very tasteful.” he said looking around the room. He glanced at Kio before taking a double look as if in realization,

“Wait...did you really think I would leave you?”

Kio frowned and averted his gaze from a concerned Peter, he sighed, “It’s just...I got you mad just before you left and I thought you didn’t really like me around. I thought it might’ve made sense if you left me here to go off on your own…”

“And you waited for me here the whole time?” he asked, surprised.

“I mean,” Kio looked around, “Even if I wanted to, there isn’t anywhere to go.”

“‘Even if you wanted to’?” Peter said perplexed. A genuine smile made its way to his face, “You mean you wanted to wait for me?” he asked softly.

Oh crap.

“No!” Kio said quickly looking away from him. When he saw his smile Kio wanted to stab himself in the heart because it was beating way too fast and he was afraid it might've made him look obvious. “I mean yes I would’ve left! What’s it to you?”

Peter laughed, “Aw shucks, I’m really flattered, Kio. Thanks for believing in me.” he rubbed the back of his own head, “I would never leave you cause of that. I wasn’t even mad about it for long. It’s all in the past, don't worry about it. I’m sorry I took so long. ”

Kio sighed, “Yeah well, it’s fine. I guess it was smart of them to keep themselves hidden.”

“No, I actually found them within a few minutes,”

“What?” Kio said with an annoyed tone, “Then what took you so long?

Peter smiled and threw a paper bag towards him. “I picked some of these up.”

It landed on his lap and Kio hesitated for a bit before opening it to see its contents. Berries, the ones that were very familiar to him. He looked at Peter astonished.

“Where did you…”

“I talked to your brothers and they said you liked those stuff and you’d eat it when you were stressed. I figured since you’re trapped here with me you’d need tons of it.” he laughed, “They said it would make you happy so I got a bunch of them. That’s why I took so long. It’d be nice to see you happy again just before I left.” he admitted, “Besides...I like it when you smile. It’s adorable.” Peter grinned.

Oh wow right to the heart.

Kio felt as if his head blew up and he was suddenly hot. He removed his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. He tried to think of something to say but his brain just wasn’t working properly. He ended up just muttering a simple thank you as he tried to hide his face with his bangs.

“You’re welcome,” Peter laughed

The two of them had shared the berries and engaged in conversation, each of them telling the other about themselves, their pasts, and what they’ve been doing for the past four years. Kio told him about the F7, Snow, Audrey, Gretel, and Goldie. He talked about their personalities while Peter nodded. Kio also told him about how he came to life from the only person he and his brothers considered to be a mother. He missed the Blue Fairy every day but that's why all three of them pray to her star every night, just as he did while waiting for Peter.

“What about you? Got any friends?” Kio asked him.

Peter let out a wry smile, “Ah…” he looked around before looking back at him, “Just one, the girl I brought to Neverland.”

Kio suddenly felt alarmed, “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“No, no, it’s fine. I want to,” he assured him, rubbing his hand on his arm. Kio nodded and gestured for him to go on.

“Her name was Wendy,” he began, “I visited London once and caught her window open. She was unlike anyone I met. She and her brothers had so much faith in childhood, not something you see often now with current kids.”

“Current?” Kio asked, “When was this?”

Peter looked at him, studying Kio’s eyes and for once, Kio didn’t look away. He gave him a sad smile, “1910. One hundred and nine years ago.”

Kio widened his eyes, “What? I don’t understand...that doesn’t make sense unless...” he looked at him disillusioned.

Peter nodded his head, “I’m under a curse as well. The Neverland Curse,” he took a deep breath, “I’m not from Fairy Tale Island, nor am I from Neverland. I was born in London in 1869. Oh, London is just up north from FT Island, just past the mist barrier.” he said quickly noticing his confusion.

“I grew up for twenty-one years there. I can’t remember much of my time there cause it’s been so long. Anyway, I remember it was raining and I was walking home until an automobile hit me from the road. It was an accident, but I died that day.”

Kio felt so much sympathy and pity for Peter, growing more as he continued to speak, “Next thing I knew, I woke up on Neverland. I could fly, I had an Island all to myself, it was really confusing, especially after learning that certain Fairy Tales were actually real. Some time passed and I realized I wasn’t aging at all from twenty-one.” he looked at his hands.

“After that young boys began to wash up on shore, all had the same fate as I did but I raised them as if they were my own. I brought Wendy and her brothers back to London, the Lost Boys wanted to stay there too. Suddenly month by month they began aging...but I wasn’t. I didn’t understand why,” he lamented, “It was only thirty years later that I realized that it was because of my curse and that the only way to break it...was with a kiss. Wendy had tried to kiss me back then but I rejected her.” he laughed emptily,

“Unfortunately she was already an adult then and she had gotten married. So I spent my years traveling around the world, I gave up on going back because there was no reason for me to. I ended my contact with her and turned into the person who you oh-so-love now.” he waved his hand, “When they coronated me as the prince of Neverland in the 80’s I hated it. I ran away for years after that. Wendy died just a couple of years ago, it was amazing how she lived that long. After that I’ve just been on my own ever since then---what are you doing?”

Peter felt something heavy on his back and it wasn’t long before he realized it was Kio, hugging him from behind. “Look,” he started, “I’m not heartless. I'm rarely the way I am with people the way I am with you. Aside from my brothers, not even most of my friends have seen that side of me. But you’ve been through so much. Losing someone you loved, never aging, being forced into something you didn’t want, it’s no wonder why you turned into the most annoying person on earth."

“Is this still an apology comfort thing or-?”

“Let me finish. You went through all those years alone but…” he paused turning around so that they were sitting back to back, “You don’t have to be alone anymore. You can come to talk to me any time, even get to know some of my friends. They’d love to have you visit.”

“You really mean that?” Peter’s smooth voice asked, hopeful.

Kio, a human now nodded, “Of course. Just apologize to my brothers first about the incident.”

Peter chuckled, “That was the first thing I did when I saw them. I didn’t mean to destroy all of your work, by the way, it was purely an accident.”

“That’s what I kept telling myself the whole time.” Kio laughed

“Well, I’m glad to at least apologize for one accident.” he chuckled.

Kio turned his head around, “What do you mean ‘one’?”

Peter rose and widened his eyes in realization.

Shit.


	4. Luma

“Peter, what do you mean just one? Did you do something else?” Kio pressed on.

Peter scrunched his face and averted his gaze, “It was an accident...I saw you and your friends in the mines and took a closer look, my leg slipped on one of the ropes that had been holding up debris and-”

“You caused the earthquake.” Kio finished. He scoffed in disbelief, “No wonder you were so keen on helping me. You only did it because you’d feel guilty because if something happened to me, it would be **your** **fault** because you’re the one who got me in this in the first place. That’s how you found me so quickly. You wanted to get on my good side so you can have a guilt-free conscience.” 

Peter shook his head, “Kio, that’s not true-” Kio stopped him with a glare and Peter hesitated, “Well...that’s part of it.” he admitted in shame, “But I promise I really did want to be friends with you! All my words were genuine!”

“Well save it.” Kio spat out, “I’m leaving without you as soon as that door opens.”

Peter looked at him heartbroken, “But...what you said earlier…” Kio looked at him before lying down with his back faced to him and said nothing else. Peter winced and lamented on Kio’s words before turning around and going to sleep himself, regretting everything he said to make this happen. 

Early dawn arose and Kio awoke to the sound of running water and doors being creaked open. The sun shone on his face as he got up. He could see the green bushes and a clear path that led to the foot of the mountain. He got up, grabbed his bag and took one last look at a sleeping Peter Pan, hesitating for a bit before walking forward.

* * *

“I’ll check on your hand one more time before we leave,” Gretel stood up from her chair, "just take it easy for now.” she took the old cloth out and was about to toss it out before Kio stopped her.

“Wait..!” she looked back at him. 

“Yeah?”

“Um...can I have that?” 

Gretel looked at this bloodied cloth and raised it up, “This?” Kio nodded. She shrugged and tossed it to him before leaving the tent. Kio caught it, rubbing his fingers over it as he reminisced the past two days. Was that really the right choice? Was he really mad at Peter? Or did he just need another reason to run away from the truth?

“Can I come in?” a voice said outside.

Kio quickly hid the cloth in his pocket and cleared his throat, “Yeah, sure.” the flap of the tent opened, “Hey, Snow White.”

“Hey, Kio,” she smiled, “How you doing?” 

He nodded, “I’m fine. I’ve gotten used to the pain already.” 

“That’s good,” Snow White sat on the chair next to his bed. “So what’s wrong?” she asked.

“You could tell?” he asked, deciding not to fight it. She gave him a small smile and nodded. “Peter and I fought just before we left. We were starting to become really good friends but apparently, he caused the explosion and he only helped me to clear his conscience,” he chuckled emotionlessly, “And to think I was questioning whether I had feelings for him or not…”

“...Do you?” Snow asked. Kio looked at her and then at his hands. 

“I don’t know...well no. I mean I care about him. He makes me laugh, I like spending time with him. I really did enjoy our time in the mines.” he shrugged

“Well, try to think about it, for example when he left you alone for hours and when you left just now. Did you think about him when he wasn't around?” Snow asked him. 

“I guess. I did start to think about how I upset him before, why he might’ve reacted like that. I started to think about what I could do just to make him feel better. Even when walking back here I somehow thought of something funny and thought ‘Oh Peter would love that. I wish he were here so I could share it with him’ but…” he trailed off as his voice got quieter and sighed.

Snow gave him an understanding smile, “Oh Kio, I know I’m just a princess but that sounds a lot like love to me.” 

Kio looked at her before giving out an empty smile as small tears pricked his eyes and sighed, “Well...it doesn’t matter anyway. I left him there and I’m never gonna see him again.” his voice cracked. Snow sadly looked at him.

“Hey,” Gretel popped her head in the tent. 

Kio quickly wiped his eyes, “Yeah, what’s up?” he then saw the urgency in her eyes. “Is everything okay?”

“We have to leave. I’m getting another signal that shows signs that another wave of aftershocks are coming. It’s going to be much bigger this time and it’ll affect much more than just the mines. We have to get out of here, now.” she said. 

Kio stood up straight. His face filled with concern, “But...he’s still there,” he mumbled. He turned to the two girls who looked at him with confusion. “I have to go. Peter might still be sleeping in there. He doesn’t know.” 

“But you might get caught back there. You might not make it out!” Snow called after him as he stood up and put his hat on. 

“He might’ve left already.” Gretel warned him, “You could be going back for nothing.” 

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” 

Kio ran like his life depended on it. He didn’t care what the cost was, whether his hand was in pain or not. He ran past the woods to see that the doors were still open and that Peter was indeed still there asleep. He sighed in relief but stumbled when he felt rumbling. The aftershock was starting. 

“Peter!” he yelled out. He slowly started to wake up. He thought he was still dreaming as the ground was shaking. 

“Kio…?” he rubbed his eyes. Kio slid through the entrance, grabbing his arm and pulling him up. 

“We have to go now, this place is about to collapse again.” he pulled him along. Peter looked confused, at the situation, and at Kio.

“What are you doing back here?” 

“Just come with-“ 

“How did you find me?!” 

“It doesn’t matter let’s-“ 

“Why did you come back?” 

“Because I care about you damn it!”

Kio looked back at Peter, his grip on his hand tightening. His face seemed like he was angry with him but his words were genuine. Time had suddenly stopped for Peter again, he looked at Kio with sincere eyes as his heart felt as light as a feather when he had said that. 

But that only lasted for so long as the doors had been destroyed with boulders, sending gallons of water from the walls in, quickly filling up the room with great speed. They had been submerged in the wave before Peter swam up, breaking the surface. 

“Kio?!” he looked around. Not long after, he too swam up. 

“The hole up there, we can swim to it, go up one by one.” Kio breathed out as he struggled to stay afloat. They swam towards the corner of the room and Kio was the first to crawl out of the water and into the grass. He quickly turned around and stretched his arm towards him, “Hurry! Give me your hand.” 

Peter reached out to him but he looked to his right and a landslide had entered the room, sending Peter off to the side as he was swept off. 

“Peter!” Kio cried out. He jumped back in the water and searched for him. He found him not far, stuck in the corner as a wooden pole trapped him in between the wall. Kio swam towards him, using all of his strength to pull him out. He started to panic when he saw Peter release the last of his oxygen into bubbles and that’s when he felt a surge of adrenaline and pulled him free. 

He dragged him out of the water, gasping for air once he hit the grass once more. He didn’t have time to catch his breath as he pulled Peter out. He put his ear near his mouth. He wasn’t breathing. He was almost dead.

Panic started to overtake him as he thought about what he could do. The others weren’t nearby, so he couldn’t get Audrey to force the water out of his lungs. Although Jack knew CPR he wasn’t around either. He had to do it himself. 

He put his hands on Peter’s chest, pumping it a few times, and didn’t hesitate to put his lips on his. He repeated the process several times and he didn’t notice that he had started crying. He didn’t notice the golden glow that shone on both him and Peter

“Please wake up...please wake up.” his voice cracked as he moved his hands. He couldn’t lose him. He didn’t want to. He was fine if Peter hated him after this. Kio didn’t care, he just wanted him to wake up. He was almost about to give up and face reality, but not before Peter violently sat up and started coughing like a maniac. 

Kio jumped back as Peter gasped for air uncharmingly. 

“Oh god, I think I died for the second time.” he breathed out. Kio choked on his tears as he rushed forward and tackled him down with a hug. 

“You’re alive...you’re alive!!” he cried out. Peter looked astonished as he Kio hugged him, he didn’t know what to do as he didn’t expect Kio to be almost as tall as him now. 

“I can’t believe it…” Peter looked at his own hand. It was bleeding. He was physically hurt for the first time in a hundred and nineteen years. He pulled back and laid down on the grass as Kio hovered above him. “Our curses are broken?” he asked. 

Kio laughed as tears streamed down his face, “Do I look like I care about that now?” Peter’s own eyes started to form tears as he chuckled, pulling Kio down for their first real kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Goldie, Peter, and Gretel belong to sleepy-lion-king and disnerd-4ever on tumblr!


End file.
